Wet suits worn by water sports enthusiasts such as skin and scuba divers, surfers, sailboarders and the like are typically contructed of a tight-fitting cellular elastomeric material. This construction permits water to enter through neck, ankle and arm openings of the suit where it flows into the suit's sponge-like elastomeric material and forms a thin water layer between the suit and the body of the suit's wearer. Because of the suit's tight fit, water that enters the suit is essentially non-circulating, and consequently is heated by the body of the wearer to provide an effective means of thermal insulation. The suit's tight fit is essential to its thermal insulating properties, such properties being compromised by any significant water circulation through the suit.
The requisite tight fit construction of the suit, however, makes it difficult and often quite time consuming for a wearer to either don or remove the suit. It can be particularly trying to insert and remove feet through the narrow leg openings of a wet suit. As may be evident, the leg openings must be sufficiently narrow to provide a tight fit around an ankle to inhibit water circulation into and through the suit. Such a narrow opening does not provide for easy insertion and withdrawal of the comparatively larger foot. Moreover, it has been found that when a person's bare foot, the wet suit, or both, are wet the surface resistance between the foot and the elastomeric material is notably increased. This makes the donning and removal of the suit even more difficult. During use, either the suit or the wearer's foot often will be wet during application of the suit, and water will virtually always be present during the suit's removal.
Additionally, over time the repeated pulling and stretching that are required to insert a foot through the leg openings can result in tearing or other deformation of the suit. This, in turn, leads to increased water circulation into and through the suit, decreasing the suit's insulating capabilities.
One approach to overcome this inherent problem of wet suits has been to provide a zipper of several inches length extending upward from the suit's leg opening. The zipper is opened to facilitate insertion and withdrawal of a foot. Once the foot is through the leg opening, the zipper is closed to inhibit water circulation. Such zipper systems, however, have proven to be less than fully satisfactory. Wet suit zippers often rust as well as leak, thereby reducing the suit's thermal insulating properties by enabling water circulation into and through the suit.
Other water sports apparel pose similar problems. For example, wet suit booties are typically constructed of cellular elastomer and are tight fitting like wet suits. See, for example, the bootie described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,022, incorporated herein by reference. Thus, the application and removal of such booties can be difficult due to resistance of a bare foot against the material of contruction of the bootie, particularly when the bootie and/or foot is wet. As with a wet suit, the pulling and stretching of the bootie that accompanies each application and removal can result in deformation of the bootie, and thereby reduce the useful life of the article.
Dry suits are also typically constructed of a cellular elastomer and tight fitting like wet suits, but provide insulating properties solely through the suit itself, rather than by means of an interstitial water layer. Again, the tight fit of these suits makes application and removal difficult which can result in deformation of leg openings or otherwise compromise the integrity and performance of the suit.